Festival Of Lights- Menorah

Celebrating various holidays is special for my students. One project that is a favorite of many is the Festival of Lights Menorah. The Chanukiah (the menorah) is a nine-branched candelabrum that is used on Hanukkah. Chanukiahs are commonly made out of metal, or stone, and can be purchased at a Judaica store, but they can be made out of anything, and many people choose to make their own.

On the first night of Hanukkah the Shamash, the candle used to light all the others, is lit, as well as one of the other eight candles. Every subsequent night another candle is added, until, on the eighth and final night of Hanukkah all the branches of the Chanukiah are lit. The candles commemorate the original Hanukkah miracle of one container of oil burning for eight days in the time of the Maccabees.

The Hanukkah menorah is a nine-branched candelabrum lit during the holiday of Hanukkah, as opposed to the seven-branched menorah used in the ancient Temple or as a symbol. The menorah is among the most widely produced articles of Jewish ceremonial art. The seven branched menorah is a traditional symbol of Judaism, along with the Star of David.

Materials you will need:

Creating the background.

Apply tempera paints on a square piece of cardboard and let dry.

Creating theCandelabrum.

On a piece of previously painted paper, I used old placemats that were used under papers that we painted on, draw out the Menorah using a Sharpie. Notice I used the letter “U” to create these. The “U’s” are nestled inside of one another with a thin rectangle in the middle representing the Shamash. Don’t forget to add the triangular base.

Cut out all the shapes, even the triangular base, and glue onto the dried painted cardboard.

Laura

Falling into Nature with Georgia O’Keeffe

The Art Teacher Planner

Categories

Categories

Painted Paper Art

I have been teaching elementary art for 20 years in Ohio. I love my job and watching my 750 students enjoy the process of creating. I love incorporating children's literature with art lessons, and anything to do with fun, colorful art. I am a mom to two lovable kids. I love to see fun projects and mix it up to create a new project. If you do post about a project please reference back to my blog. It is great getting comments and feedback to pass along to my students. Thanks for checking it out!
Enjoy, Laura